Saved Now Safe
by Boeshane
Summary: He heard her voice through the pounding of the drums, pulling him back from the madness. She saw his hand reaching for her, ready to pull her from the darkness. Master/Martha. Mentions of violence.


The Time Lords were together again in the massive corridor of Harold Saxon's mansion with a full view of its enormous library. The Doctor was not paying it any attention.

"Let her go. Just let her go." The Doctor pleaded.

The Master tucked his hands in his pockets, a grin plastered on his face. "It's so nice to see you've finally come to visit. What took you, Doctor?"

"Give her back. I won't let you hurt her."

The Master made a noise of contempt and gave the other Time Lord a disappointed look even with the grin still on his lips. "You make her sound like a thing. She's free to leave whenever she wants. Martha! Come out and say hello to the Doctor. Come to your Master."

A moment later and the sound of heels clicking on the tiled floors echoed from the library. Martha stepped into view wearing an evening gown and diamond necklace, her hair pulled back in a chignon. Her face was impassive as she went to stand beside the Master. Demure and silent, she was nothing like the old Martha with her leather jacket and boots.

"Martha, come with me. I'll take you away from here, from him." The Doctor held out his hand.

The Master's smile slipped. "Six months she's been here, Doctor. Did you really think she would come running back to you?"

The Doctor looked at Martha with heartbreak in his eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I tried, really I did, to find you. I never should have left you on your own."

Martha stared back at him as if trying to remember. She inched closer to the Master, pain glazing her eyes.

"What did you do to her?" The Doctor glared at the other Time Lord. "I swear if you've hurt her—"

"Hurt her? It's the drums. I've overwhelmed her mind with them and they can be so…distracting. Memories get lost in the noise but don't worry, Doctor, I'm sure you're in there somewhere."

"Martha, please." The Doctor pleaded. "We travelled through time and space together. You saved my life. You can't forget that."

"If I went with you, would you stop it, the noise inside my head?" Martha's voice barely rose above a whisper.

"I don't know." He replied solemnly. "But I will do everything I can." He turned to the Master and growled between clenched teeth, "You bastard."

The Master made a noise of disapproval. "Such language, and in front of a lady. I thought you had better manners."

"Look at her. She's not Lucy, she's not a toy you can play with whenever you like."

"You're right." The Master kissed with a manic grin. His eyes flashed with a surge of energy. "She's so much more _intense_. Just look at her, itching to get out of that silly dress and scream at the top of her lungs. She wants to fight and she is, against the insanity. I get the Martha Jones that walked the Earth for you so rarely now. But it comes, and I wait for it, it's _beautiful_."

The Doctor looked at Martha, boring into the core of her. "Martha Jones, look at me. Remember the TARDIS, remember Shakespeare."

"Shakespeare!" The Master cried. "Now there was a handsome—Martha! I always thought you were overly fond of his works."

"Remember the Judoon and the living sun." The Doctor ignored him. "Remember the year that never was and the times you saved me."

Martha closed her eyes tight, hands clenched at her sides. "The Doctor with his blue police box." She said quietly. She shook her head as if to clear it. "We travelled the stars."

"That's right. Remember all we did, all the adventures."

"I remember…you left and there was Torchwood…UNIT. There was a war." She clasped her hands over her ears. "A war. The Sycorax, the Sontarans…so many more were waiting for you. Then Mickey died. They took me, the Doctor's companion. I screamed your name until it hurt to breathe."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't—I didn't know." The Doctor's breath hitched. "I would have saved you. I'm so—"

"Stop." She yelled, pressing her hands tighter over her ears. "I don't want your apologies. I want—"

Martha cried out in pain, her body going rigid for a moment before she fainted. The Master caught her in his arms before she could hit the ground.

"Don't you dare even come close." The Master snarled as the Doctor took a step forward. "I found her in the wreckage of a Sycorax ship but it wasn't your name she was calling. It was anyone but you, even me. Where were you while she bled and burned for you? Watching supernovas and exploring nebulas?" He took Martha in his arms. "I healed her, Doctor." He practically spat the name.

"You filled her mind with that noise, pushed her to the brink of insanity." He shot back.

"Insanity is kinder." The Master sneered. "You've shown yourself in now allow my guards to show you out."

The suits of armor lining the hall suddenly sprang to life. They stepped down from the pedestals and stared at the Doctor. An idea borrowed from Son of Mine, he realized.

"I know Martha. You won't keep her here."

The Master smirked. "I've been inside her head. I know every inch of her, every darkest secret. I know Martha better than you ever can and I know she doesn't want to leave."

***Master/Martha***

They were in the master bedroom, _their_ bedroom. The Master laid Martha gently on down among the myriad of pillows and soft sheets. He sat beside her, propped up against the intricately carved oak headboard. He watched the unsteady rise and fall of her chest for a moment before he placed his fingertips lightly on her forehead.

"Dear, sad, poor little Martha Jones." He breathed as he took his hand away. "You're rotting in the stink of insanity. Where are you, Martha? The one who walked the Earth and was ready to take on an army."

Martha's eyes fluttered open and she looked at the Master with red-rimmed eyes. Without a word, she sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed so her back was to him.

"Help me." She ordered after slipping off her shoes.

The Master went obediently, straddling her as he undid the back of her dress. He laid bare her shoulder and rested his head on her, breathing deep her scent.

"That was cruel." She murmured. She rose to her feet and slipped out the dress.

The Master laid back and watched her walk across the room in only her slip. "Which part?"

"The part where you tortured the Doctor."

"That wasn't torture, that was…emotional distress. He deserved it." He was mesmerized by the sway of her hips.

"And what do you deserve?" Her voice drifted out from the walk-in closet.

He shifted and could just make out the side of her as she undressed. "Are we going to fight about that dreadful year again? Humans never let anything go. You can hit me if it makes you feel better." He added innocently.

"You're completely mental." She stepped out in just a shirt that reached mid-thigh.

"Just a little." He held his thumb and forefinger close together. He looked away suddenly, eyes glazed over as he listened to the drums pounding inside his head.

"Master." Martha's voice cut through the din.

He turned and saw she was sitting less than a foot away.

"I love it when you say my name." He breathed.

She laid a hand on his head and he heard the drums quiet slightly. "Why would you save me? After what we've been through, why me? Why would you save anyone at all?"

The Master fixed her with an intense stare, his eyes locked to hers. "Because you called me. I heard you call my name through time and space, through the drums. When I was nearly consumed by the madness, you called me back and I remembered myself. I remembered the way I was before the noise and the anger. I wanted to find you. I wanted to know why _you_. Why you would save _me_." He ghosted his hand over her calf. "And I wanted to be yours, your Master."


End file.
